Missing fasts due to illness.

Q. Two muslim sisters wants to know the following:
(1) She just had a delicate operation and 4 doctors who had attended to her told her that for her health she should not fast, and she also feels afraid to fast for the same reason. So does she have to pay by giving food to some poor persons or what is the ruling on this please?

(2) The other sister said she is afraid to fast because she suffers from some intensive migraine headaches and have very bad pains in the stomach. Both of them desire to fast but have these problems. What is the ruling in this second case as well?


A. With respect to the first question, the sister would be allowed to miss the fast, based upon the advise she has received from her doctors. However, due to the fact that this illness is not permanent, she will have to make up for the missed fasts when she recovers.

In the second case, if the sister suffers from the said illness on a permanent basis whenever she observes the fast, then she will be allowed to pay a fidya (feed a person) for each of the fasts which are missed. However, in this case also, she will have to make up for the missed fasts in the future if she becomes free from this illness. The allowance to miss the fast must be upon the advice of a genuine doctor, and should not be solely based upon the discretion of the individual.

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Waseem Khan